Tesla Motors
Telsa Motors is making several changes to improve its service and warranty programs, it announced today.
Customers whose cars need to be repaired will have access to a fleet of Model S loaner vehicles in the meantime.
Those vehicles will be top of the line and fully-equipped, and available for purchase for a reduced price (it drops by 1% per month of age, and $1 per mile).
Offering those cars for sale will help keep the fleet fresh, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on a call discussing the news. "We don't want an aging fleet of overused cars."
Customers who do purchase their loaner car will return their own vehicle to Tesla, which will then sell it as a used product. That will "help improve the affordability of the car," Musk said.
The Roadster, the sports car Tesla built before the Model S, will also be available for loans.
A new valet service will pick up and drop off cars that need to be repaired, for no additional charge.
Tesla is also making its $600 annual service plan optional, and offering an unconditional warranty for the battery of the Model S, even for user error.
"If something goes wrong, is Tesla's fault, not the customer's," Musk said, noting that does not hold true in the case of a collision.
The new service policies will definitely apply to the Model X, the SUV that is scheduled to enter production late next year.
It is less likely they will apply to the vehicle Tesla introduces after that. Because Tesla hopes to make that car especially affordable, it "may have to unbundle some of these things," Musk explained.
The CEO said Tesla has always focused on the "things that needed the most attention." Early on, that was making good cars, then it was increasing the rate of production.
Now, he explained, the company wants to offer "the world's best service and warranty program."
"I think that our service is okay but not great, and it needs to be great."
The full Tesla release is below.
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Creating the World’s Best Service and Warranty Program
Making Service Better Than Invisible
The best way to experience service is, of course, not to experience service. If your car does need service, then it should be swapped with a car that is ideally better in some or many ways. To this end, Tesla is building a fleet of top of the line Model S loaners. These will not be our basic model – they will be state of the art with all the best features and options.
Nor will this eventually become an aging fleet of overused cars. The loaners will be available for immediate purchase at a price that is lower by 1% per month of age and $1 per mile. If you like the service loaner more than your other car, you can just keep it. This ensures that the service fleet is constantly refreshed and gives customers the best optionality.